Family Drama / mystery
World War II
Italy and London
In 1946, Sally Jardine-Fell is in Holloway Prison awaiting
trial for murder. A murder, she claims, she did not commit. A product of high
society, she is a spirited and promiscuous young woman with a tendency to be a
bit wild. As much as to spite her parents as anything, she takes a position as
a secretary in a remote Yorkshire village, has an affair with a man she only knows
as Adam and is recruited by the SOE (Special Operations Executive). She is sent
to Italy to form a honey trap liaison with a prominent Italian politician.
The vast bulk of the book sees Sally telling her story to
her solicitors, the rather stiff Mr Somerby and the slightly more bending
Cynthia Smart. And quite a story it is: her involvement with the Italian
resistance and attempts to flee to Switzerland, including a long period in the
company of two German soldiers who offer
her a lift and decide to desert as the Allies begin to make inroads into Italy.
Let's get the parts I didn't like out of the way. At first I
found the use of the present tense rather off-putting, though it soon became
acceptable. Despite the lengthy descriptions of her thoughts and actions during
the war, as well as the input from her counsel, the eventual trial only lasted
a few days, which seemed far too short for a big murder trial. The denouement
was also a little unsatisfactory, but I won't reveal why for that would give
the game away. I also worry about the title: with so many characters not being
who they appear to be, it is actually perfect and very clever, but the casual
browser may dismiss delving further for what they may perceive as a
misspelling.
Having said that, I found it hard to put the book down. The
action is tense throughout, interspersed with the fact that Sally is on trial
for her life. The author knows how to write conversation, too, as it comes over
as very natural. The cover, in black and white, depicts a poorly lit street
with a shadowy figure hovering in a doorway. Very evocative.
A good read overall, with a variety of characters, some of
whom survive and some who do not.
© Richard Tearle
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